The Confessions of Aubrey Beardsley by Donald S. Olson

London : Bantam Press, 1993

When Oscar Wilde was arrested for gross indecency, it was reported in the press that he was carrying a copy of The Yellow Book. Both the color and the title of this literary journal, whose art editor was Aubrey Beardsley, was a reference to illicit French novels which were typically bound in yellow. The story of what happened to Oscar Wilde is well known, but the affect of his arrest, conviction and imprisonment on others in his orbit is less well explored.

The Confessions of Aubrey Beardsley opens in the final years of Aubrey Beardsley's life. He has committed himself to converting to Catholicism prior to his impending death at the age of 25 from tuberculosis. As a matter of survival, becoming Catholic or moving to the continent were the common choices among gay men in England after the Wilde trial. Beardsley provides his full confession to Père Coubé, a French priest, through a series of letters. Over the course of these letters we learn about key events in his life.

Beardsley's family struggled financially during his early years and Aubrey and his sister performed at parties of the wealthy—he on the piano and his sister, Mabel, reciting poetry. As a teenager, he had begun to take more seriously his talents as an artist and he was particularly enamored with the art of Edward Burne-Jones, a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Beardsley presented himself and his portfolio of drawings at the home of Burne-Jones who saw something worth encouraging. He later helped Beardsley to hone his craft and make connections with others in the arts community. 

After entering this new world of art and literature, he became aware of Oscar Wilde's intention to publish an English edition of his play Salome and that it would need illustrations. Instead of appealing directly to Wilde or his publisher, Beardsley created a single illustration depicting a critical moment in the play and it was published in an arts and literature journal where he knew Wilde would see it. His plan worked and he soon had the commission to provide the illustrations for Salome. Wilde was ascendant in the literary and arts world and having this connection helped Beardsley to achieve even greater success. When Wilde soon thereafter had his great fall, Beardsley's star also fell. He blamed Wilde for his foolish behavior which also ruined his own reputation and career.

Beardsley struggles with his confession because to renounce his life as sin would mean to agree that his art had no value. He had suffered from tuberculosis at least from the age of seven. Death was always imminent and given his young age at death, one can see why he wanted to experience everything possible while he was still alive. 

Although the particulars of the story are quite different, while reading this novel, I couldn't help thinking of another extremely talented artist/author that died far too young, Denton Welch. There's something about putting so much energy into one's artistic output while suffering significant and ongoing health crises that is extraordinarily compelling. 

The Man in the Red Coat by Julian Barnes

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2020

At the core of Barnes', The Man in the Red Coat is Dr. Samuel Pozzi, the subject of John Singer Sargent's famous portrait. This isn't, however, the typical biography of an individual. It's a biography of a place, a time, and a society.

The jumping off point is a 1885 trip to London by three Frenchmen for what they termed 'intellectual shopping' (something a dandy would do). One of the members of this trio was Dr. Pozzi. The others were Prince Edmond de Polignac and Count Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac. So then the question becomes how did this commoner with the Italian name come to make this trip with a prince and a count.

The society during la Belle Epoque in Paris, serves as the foundation of the story Barnes has to tell. The relationships, petty jealousies, duels, and court cases are all included. A cast of characters include many lesser-known individuals, but some major names play a role in the world that the doctor, the prince and count inhabit.

Major literary figures such as Oscar Wilde and Joris-Karl Huysmans (author of A Rebours) appear, along with a fascinating discussion of aestheticism and dandyism. Wilde's trials are discussed in the context of the French vs British court systems. French cases like the Black Masses Scandal involving Baron Fersen (Jacques d'Adelsward-Fersen) who was charged with inciting minors to commit debauchery is briefly noted. A polarizing political issue during this time was the Dreyfus Affair, a blatant example of the anti-Semitism of the time. It's definitely a Who's Who of artists (Sargent, obviously), actresses (Sarah Bernhardt), authors, and society figures of the time period.

In the context of all of this literary and political intrigue was extraordinary progress in medicine and Dr. Pozzi was a the center of it. His experience with doctors such as British surgeon, Joseph Lister, aided Pozzi in improving surgical services in France and particularly in the area of gynecology, his specialty. This is a fascinating time of rapid growth in understanding germ theory and the ways to prevent infection.

All of this makes for a fascinating social history of la Belle Epoque Paris that is as exciting as any work of fiction.

The Master by Colm Toibin

New York : Scribner, 2004

Henry James is known as the gay writer that never wrote anything gay. Certainly in recent decades there have been queer readings of his work, but overall his intent was to avoid gay stories or to obscure them so totally that they go unnoticed. Colm Toibin has brilliantly conveyed aspects of James' life, highlighting his fear of being found out and the struggle of not being able to live as ones true self. Myriad examples of what can happen when one does live authentically present themselves and remind James that it's not safe.

Opening in January 1895 with the premier of Guy Domville, Henry James' first play, The Master proceeds through the final five years of the nineteenth century. James is 52 at the start of the novel and the events of the ensuing five years recall key moments in his life—particularly the deaths of his parents, his sister and his close friend, the novelist Constance Fenimore Woolson. These events highlight his struggle to maintain relationships throughout his life.

Writing short stories and novels, James has preferred to work in solitude, resulting in challenges in  relationships with both family and friends. His primary relationship is to his work so he avoids the opening of his play by attending another theater performance, an Oscar Wilde play (likely An Ideal Husband). After Guy Domville closes as a failure the night that it opens, The Importance of Being Earnest opens in its place, giving Wilde two plays in production at the same time.

Within a few months, Wilde's star has fallen and two friends (Jonathan Sturgess and Edmond Gosse) begin sharing weekly updates with James regarding the ensuing trial for gross indecency. James' reaction makes it clear that he believes it's too dangerous to live honestly and the trial only confirms his commitment to his writing and avoidance of romantic attachments.

References to more accepting countries in Europe are used to highlight the danger of being gay in England at this time. Rumors of Wilde's fleeing to France before he was ultimately imprisoned made sense given the permissive laws there. After Wilde's imprisonment, James continued to converse with Edmond Gosse and the subject of expatriate John Addington Symonds entered the conversation. Symnonds had lived in Italy because of its more accepting culture and had privately published A Problem of Greek Ethics, a defense of homosexuality and sent copies to friends in England who were horrified. Although not expressly stated, there is an implication that James was one of the recipients.

Henry James and Hendrik Anderson
c.1907

James walked a tightrope when it came to managing relationships in society. He needed the interaction, since that's where many of his storylines were borne, but how do you maintain relationships with men without inciting gossip, such as happened regarding his relationship to the young sculptor, Hendrik Christian Anderson, or with women without creating an expectation of something more. As Baroness von Rabe notes late in the novel,

“I remember you when you were young and all the ladies followed you, nay fought with each other to go riding with you. That Mrs. Sumner and young Miss Boott and young Miss Lowe. All the young ladies, and others not so young. We all liked you, and I suppose you liked us as well, but were too busy gathering material to like anyone too much. You were charming, of course, but you were like a young banker collecting our savings. Or a priest listening to our sins.” (p.265)

In order to survive, James had to keep his interior feelings quite separate from his outward interactions. When he occasionally softens that division, society provides a warning encouraging that wall to remain in place. When he's asked by his niece why Isabel returns to Osmond at the end of Portrait of a Lady, he says "It is easier to renounce bravery rather than to be brave over and over.” (p.325)

The Stringed Lute : An Evocation in Dialogue of Oscar Wilde by John Furnell

London : Rider and Company, 1955

Beginning in 1891 when Oscar Wilde first meets Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas, the author recounts their relationship in the form of a play. Even before their relationship began, there were those within society who took issue with Oscar's writing, specifically The Picture of Dorian Gray. The relationship was a particular problem for Bosie's father, the Marquess of Queensbury whom Wilde sued for libel for calling him a homosexual.

The Stringed Lute is a play within a play as it begins and ends with the author in his apartment in the former home of Oscar Wilde. Furnell makes use of Wilde's own writings to create an authenticity to the dialogue. The first part focusing on the relationship with Lord Alfred draws most heavily from The Picture of Dorian Gray. The final part, taking place after his release from prison, draws most heavily from De Profundis.

The action of the play truly humanizes Wilde and presents him as a martyr of sorts; a Christ-like figure willing to be sacrificed for the cause. Furnell only alludes to the trials and the time in prison is skipped in its entirety. The effects of the imprisonment, however are seen in the subsequent years in France and briefly in Naples with Lord Alfred. Wilde died in poverty in Paris in 1900 surrounded by friends who had supported him through everything.

The Stringed Lute as well as The Trials of Oscar Wilde by H. Montgomery Hyde formed the basis of the 1960 movie.  While Hyde's text fills in the details of the trials, unfortunately much of what makes The Stringed Lute so appealing doesn't appear in the film.

Bibliographies & Ratings: Cory (IV); Garde (P, 138 **); Mattachine Review (IV); Young (1345 *)

Oscar Wilde : a Play by Leslie & Sewell Stokes

New York : Random House, 1938

First published in 1937 in Britain and having been first performed in 1936 at London's Gate Theatre Studio, Oscar Wilde : A Play by Leslie and Sewell Stokes is tightly focused on Wilde's trials; first his libel suit against the Marquess of  Queensberry followed by his trials for gross indecency. His experience in prison is not discussed except in passing after his release. The focus is so tight, in fact, that several characters and events are simply not included. Completely absent are Lady Wilde (Wilde's mother) and Constance (Wilde's wife). Wilde's bankruptcy while imprisoned is also not discussed, although there is an acknowledgement late in the play of Oscar's need for monetary assistance from friends. Interestingly, Wilde's friend, the controversial author and journalist, Frank Harris appears as a character.

While Lester Cohen's play on the same topic from 1928 uses Wildean epigrams to create a true comedy in its early acts, the Stokes' present the story as straightforward drama. A few epigrams are used early on but they are used sparingly and there is even a comment by one of the characters that don't feel they are appropriate to the seriousness of the situation.

In this telling of the story, blessed by Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas who wrote the forward, we see a very different Lord Alfred. Gone is the spoiled young man using Oscar as a means to attack his father, the Marquess, for all of the wrongs he felt were done him. Here, Oscar and Lord Alfred present a united front where they come to agreement on how to proceed at each stage. Based on the attention given, there is a particular defensiveness regarding Lord Alfred's absence during Wilde's imprisonment and his subsequent release. This is explained, in part, by Douglas' family's financial control over him — no contact with Wilde, or he would lose his allowance. For Wilde's part, he explains Lord Alfred's absence when he is released from prison as due to his friends withholding financial support if he and Douglas reunited.

Left: Oscar Wilde : Tre Atti by Niccolò De' Colli
Firenze : Gruppo di cultura fiorentino degl'ISVICI, 1933
Right: Le procès d'Oscar Wilde : Pièce Inédite, en Trois Actes
Précédés d'un Prélude by Maurice Rostand
Paris : [publisher not identified], 1935

Just as Cohen's 1928 play was preceded by two non-English plays on the subject in the 1920s, the Stokes' play was also preceded by two European works in the 1930s. The first, an Italian work titled Oscar Wilde : Tre Atti by Niccolò De' Colli was published in 1933. The second, a French work titled Le procès d'Oscar Wilde : Pièce Inédite, en Trois Actes Précédés d'un Prélude by Maurice Rostand was published in 1935. An English language production of this French work was originally to be produced in London by Mr. Norman Marshall but a conversation with Lord Alfred Douglas who was outraged at its inaccuracies (largely that Douglas never saw Wilde again after he was imprisoned) led to the idea being scrapped in favor of producing an original work, the result being the Stokes' play.

It's not surprising that so many plays were written and produced during the second and third decades of the 20th century. European countries continued to be more socially permissive and were destinations for British gay men who felt unsafe after the Wilde ordeal. By the end of the 1930s with the rise of fascism in Europe, that would all begin to change.

Bibliographies & Ratings: Cory (IV); Garde (P, 62 **); Mattachine Review (IV); Young (3662)

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde (1882)

Oscar Wilde: a Play by Lester Cohen

New York : Boni & Liveright, 1928

In 1928, Cohen penned the first play on the life of Oscar Wilde in English. He refers to it as having been 'written for presentation — rather than for reading', however it was inadvisable to produce it in climate of New York at the time. In the play's forward, he also makes it very clear that he intends to leave history to the historians. A significant amount of artistic license has been taken with the facts of history.

The story is focused on four major events: Marquess of  Queensberry's confrontation of Wilde regarding his relationship with Queensberry's son, Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas, a truncated telling of the trials — primarily focused on Wilde's libel suit against Queensberry and then a single trial for gross indecency, a short scene in prison, and finally Oscar in Paris following his two years at Reading Gaol.

Since the play doesn't intend to strictly follow actual events, major characters in the real-life drama have been replaced and/or renamed. Completely absent are Lady Wilde (Wilde's mother) and Constance (Wilde's wife). The character of Lady Diana, a jilted lover of sorts, serves the dual role of would-be savior and as the representation of society's opinion of Wilde and his behavior. The most comical addition to the cast of characters is Zadi, a servant girl who is brought in to replace Melville, a page, after rumors of Wilde's sexual behaviors are known. She is dressed in a gauzy harem costume which leaves nothing to the imagination and her presence is intended to throw the public off the track. The running joke is that the men who visit Oscar pay her little attention. Lord Alfred is written as a petulant and self absorbed young man determined to hurt his father regardless of how that may affect others. Oscar, on the other hand, is depicted as completely in Lord Alfred's control and unable to defy his wishes.

Cohen uses Wilde's style to great effect, creating conversations among the characters that are both witty and biting. For instance, when Lady Diana says 'Oh - I suppose I'm an idiot.', Wilde replies, 'You just go on making one discovery after another, don't you Diane?' What starts out as a comedy quickly turns dark during the trial scene. The 'sin' of excess must of course be punished. Repentance during incarceration soon follows.

Left: Oscar Wilde by David Peña
Buenos Aires : Sociedad Editorial Argentina, 1922
Right: Oskar Wilde : Sein Drama by Carl Sternheim
Potsdam : G. Kiepenheuer, 1925

Although Wilde did convert to Catholicism while in prison, Cohen might take that transformation a bit too far.  In particular, he suggests that Lord Alfred breaks with Oscar after he so spectacularly loses the libel suit against Queensberry. As well, after serving his prison term, Oscar thinks of their relationship as an anomaly when he 'lost [his] way in life - and stumbled into the slime'. We know from history that he did see Lord Alfred again after prison and he certainly had other liaisons before, after and during his relationship with him.

Oscar Wilde's ordeal became the subject of many plays starting in the early 1920s. Prior to Cohen's 1928 work, two non-English plays about Oscar Wilde were published: David Peña's Spanish play, Oscar Wilde, in 1922 and Carl Sternheim's German play, Oskar Wilde: Sein Drama in 1925. The French, with their more liberal attitudes regarding sexuality, helped to keep Oscar Wilde's story and his writings alive even as the British had consigned him to oblivion. As M. de Vedia y Mitra notes in the forward to Peña's work, the educated classes of Argentina had adopted the French language and their connection to Wilde's work was largely through French translations. During the period of the Wiemar Republic, Germany also maintained more liberal views on sexuality and staged productions of Wilde's work during that time. Sternheim's play elevated Wilde beyond simply the author of these plays, to a subject of theatrical production itself.

Bibliographies & Ratings: Cory (IV); Garde (OTP, C *); Mattachine Review (IV); Young (716)

Desert Dreamers by Gerald Hamilton

Washington D.C. : Guild Press, 1966

Desert Dreamers was originally published in London with the imprint of At the Sign of the Tiger Lily in 1914. Appearing at that time as Desert Dreamers: a Novel of Friendship under the pseudonym Patrick Weston, it tells the story of Julian Thelluson who, against his mother's wishes, decides to holiday in Algiers instead of with her in Cannes.

Making the acquaintance of a Frenchman at the hotel in Algiers, he shares with him that he plans to continue on to Biskra. The Frenchman is alarmed and tries to talk him out of it by stating that Biskra isn't the place for an Englishman like himself.

Julian's mind, however, is made up. Upon his arrival in Biskra he runs into a friend of his mother's, a barrister named Joseph Hoxton. When he is introduced to Hoxton's guide, Tayeb ben Mahmud, a young Algerian, he is instantly drawn to him.

Hamilton refers to Julian having read The Garden of Allah as the source of his desire to travel to Biskra. The Garden of Allah is a 1905 novel by Robert Smythe Hichens (author of the 1894 novel about Oscar Wilde, The Green Carnation) about an English woman of 32 years who has yet to find love. Her parents are deceased so she travels to Algeria with her maid and finds love in the desert.

Another reference, and likely the one that the Frenchman in the novel is reacting to, is the connection of Biskra with Oscar Wilde, Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas, and Andre Gide. Gide has written about Wilde and Douglas traveling to Biskra and as part of their vacationing, picking up young local men. When Gide visited them, they introduced him to the lifestyle and the many young men who were available to European tourists.

Desert Dreamers would have been very bold for its time, thus the need for a pseudonym. Prior to each chapter, there is a short poem or poem fragment relating to the action of the text. They are not at all subtle. They include everything from Shakespeare to The Koran. One of my favorites is this one by Lord Alfred Douglas.

Jacinth blue and violet
  Is the radiant light that flashes
Through the tangled silken net
  When he lifts his languid lashes.

It is said that Gerald Hamilton is the source of Isherwood's Mr. Norris. In 1966, Guild Press re-released the complete text of Desert Dreamers under the author's actual name with a forward by Christopher Isherwood where he discusses this.

Bibliographies & Ratings: Young (At the Sign of the Tiger Lily edition, 4070* ; Guild Press edition, 1675*)

The Immoralist by Andre Gide

New York : Knopf, 1930
(later printing, 1949)

Originally published in1902 with the first English translation by Dorothy Bussy in 1930, The Immoralist is an early defense of homosexuality and a commentary on ethics and morality. Beginning with a short letter written by Michel's brother, this novella-length work is structured primarily as a monologue or confession.

Out of a sense of duty to his dying father, Michel marries Marceline and they honeymoon in Tunisia. While there, Michel becomes quite ill and during his convalescence, he meets a young boy, Bachir, whose beauty and strength captivate him. Seeming to now have a reason to survive tuberculosis and largely ignoring Marceline, Michel now begins to live his life according to his own desires, not what society dictates.

This way of being in and thinking about the world is strongly influenced by the ideas and writings of Oscar Wilde, who makes his appearance in the form of  the character Ménalque. This is not at all surprising since Gide and Wilde were literary friends of sorts who met and corresponded during the 1890s about these very issues.

While technically a novel, it reads more like a philosophical defense, something along the lines of Gide's Corydon (1924) where he offers a more specific defense of homosexuality in the form of four Socratic dialogues.

Bibliographies & Ratings: Cory (IV); Garde (Primary, **); Mattachine Review (IV); Young (1420,*)